Empress Dowager is the honorific title given by the emperor and emperor for his mother (嫡母 or biological mother), and the term empress dowager first appeared in the Warring States period of China, the Qin state Qin Xuan Empress Dowager Qi Bazi (concubine of King Huiwen of Qin, mother of King Zhaoxiang of Qin).
China
In the early days of the emperor's accession to the throne, he honored the previous emperor's empress, usually his concubine or biological mother as the empress dowager.
system
- The emperor succeeded to the throne with a concubine: the biological mother is the concubine, and if there is a biological mother, the biological mother is the empress dowager. If her biological mother has died, her stepmother (the first emperor succeeds the empress) is the empress dowager. There was no biological mother or empress of the first emperor, and sometimes the concubines of the first dynasty who raised the emperor were made imperial concubines, and sometimes they were also crowned empresses.
- The emperor succeeded to the throne with his concubine: his mother was the empress dowager, and his biological mother was honored as the imperial concubine. The biological mother Empress Dowager can be promoted to empress dowager after the death of Empress Dowager Concubine, and if the concubine dies before Empress Dowager Concubine, she will be posthumously honored as empress. By the time of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the concubine's biological mother was the empress dowager, and the Qing Dynasty honored the emperor's concubine mother as "Empress Dowager Mother", and the biological mother as "Virgin Empress Dowager"; Nominally, the empress dowager is higher than the birth mother.
- The emperor was succeeded by side-branches: the adoptive mother (the first emperor empress) was the empress dowager, and the adoptive mother was required to adopt the mother as the concubine. However, there were exceptions, such as Emperor Ling of Han and Murong Chao, who honored their biological mother as empress dowager.
- The emperor was of the same generation as the first emperor, and even more honored than the first emperor: the emperor's own mother was the empress dowager, and the first emperor was called empress by the emperor and called empress, such as the Song Dynasty Kaibao Empress.
- During the reign of the Han Emperor, there were four empresses in the palace, namely: Fu Shi, the grandmother of the Emperor of Mourning (the titles were Empress Dowager Gong, Empress Dowager Emperor, Empress Dowager, etc.), Emperor Mourning's biological mother (the titles were Empress Gong, Empress Dowager, etc.), Emperor Cheng's biological mother Wang Zhengjun (Empress Dowager), and Emperor Cheng's Empress Zhao Feiyan (Empress Dowager), which was called the fourth empress dowager.
- In order to prevent foreign Qi from interfering in government, Northern Wei implemented the "Zigui Mother Death" system in imitation of Emperor Wudi of Han. Regardless of palace maids, concubines, or even empresses, as long as the prince born was made crown prince, he himself died (even if Emperor Wei Wencheng did not ascend the throne as a prince and crown prince, his biological mother Empress Jing Mugong was still given death after his accession to the throne). However, the young prince still needs to be raised, the so-called Empress Dowager, that is, the emperor's nursing mother is the empress. However, the system of mother death and nobility was too cruel, causing everyone in the harem to endanger themselves, so it was abolished after the middle of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Special Empress Dowager
- Empress Lü He, Emperor Gao of Han - Liu Bang's original wife, the first empress and empress dowager in Chinese history. During the reign of his grandson, the former and later young emperors, he was not called the empress dowager, but still the empress dowager, and the Linzhao dynasty was called "朕". She was also the first regent to hold the title of Empress Dowager.
- Empress Shangguan of the Han Zhao Emperor - Empress Shangguan was only fifteen years old when the Han Zhao Emperor died, and although Liu He, who succeeded him, only reigned for 27 days, he was asked to depose by the courtiers, and Empress Shangguan was still honored as the empress dowager. After Emperor Xuan of Han succeeded to the throne, he was promoted to empress dowager. Empress Dowager Shangguan lived until Emperor Yuan of Han ascended the throne, by which time she was already the emperor's legal great-grandmother, the youngest empress dowager in Chinese history.
- Concubine Shen of the Tang Dynasty - Concubine of Emperor Tang when he was the king of Guangping County, the biological mother of Tang Dezong, the Shen clan disappeared in the Anshi Rebellion, and her son was honored as the empress dowager after ascending the throne. By the time of his great-grandson Tang Xianzong, he was known as Empress Dowager Zeng, held a mourning ceremony for him, and caught up with the Empress Dowager.
- Tang Xianzong Guo Guifei - Tang Shunzong Dynasty as the princess, Tang Xianzong noble concubine, Tang Muzong Dynasty Empress Dowager, Tang Jingzong Dynasty Empress Dowager, Wenzong, Wuzong, Xuanzong and other three dynasties are still the Empress Dowager, through seven generations of imperial dynasties in his life, five of which are deeply treated, and the experience of his seven dynasties and five honors is special. Like Chu Garlic of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, her honorific title was not demoted because the new emperor was higher than the old emperor.
- Empress He of Tang Zhaozong - Empress Zhaozong of Tang and empress dowager of the Tang Dynasty. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, when the imperial power was weakening, she was killed by the warlord Zhu Quanzhong and forced to be deposed, becoming the only empress dowager in Chinese history to be deposed by her own son.
- Emperor Zhaozong of Song's Zhaoci Shengxian Empress Meng, Empress Zhezong of Song, was deposed twice and restored twice, and was forced to obey the government twice under the critical situation of the country, and the experience is rare.
- Empress Gaozong of Song Xiansheng Cilie - born in the Song Huizong Dynasty, talented person of Emperor Gaozong of Song, concubine Shenggui, Empress Hou Sheng, Empress Taishang of the Song Xiaozong Dynasty (renamed Empress Dowager after her husband's death), Emperor Guangzong of Song, Emperor Ningzong of Song as the Empress Dowager, who has gone through six generations of imperial dynasties in his life. She is one of the very few emperors in Chinese history with the rank of legal great-grandmother.
- Empress Xiaohui of Emperor Mingxianzong, Concubine Shao Chen, never became the mother of the reigning emperor, but was honored as the empress dowager by her grandson Ming Shizong as an imperial grandmother.
- After the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Xiaohuizhang - the longest-reigning empress dowager, from 1661 to 1718, a total of 57 years, if the empress period is included, a total of 64 years (1654-1718), making her the longest reigning woman in Chinese history (empress, empress dowager).
- Empress Dowager Cixi, the concubine of the Qing Xianfeng Emperor - the de facto ruler at the end of the Qing Dynasty. With 25 characters, she is the empress dowager with the longest number of characters in Chinese history.
- After the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Longyu - Empress Dowager of the Guangxu Emperor. After the Xuantong Emperor ascended the throne, she was promoted to empress dowager, and imitated her aunt Empress Dowager Cixi to obey the government, becoming the last empress dowager in the history of the Qing Dynasty and China.
exception
- During the reign of the former and later Young Emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, the empress dowager was Empress Dowager Lü, the grandmother of the Second Young Emperor, and the second young emperor's concubine, Empress Zhang, was not called empress dowager.
- Imperial Concubine Liu - Liu was the concubine of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, but after Zhuangzong succeeded to the throne, he honored his biological mother Cao as empress dowager, and his concubine Liu was only honored as an imperial concubine, which violated the custom of honoring her mother as empress dowager.
- After Liu Yue, the fourth emperor of the Han and Zhao dynasties of the Sixteen Kingdoms, succeeded to the throne, his father Liu Cong and four empresses: the right empress Jin Yuehua, the upper empress Fan, the middle empress Xuan, and the left empress Wang were all eligible for the status of empress dowager, but Liu Yue only gave the title of empress dowager Jin Yuehua, and Empress Fan, Empress Xuan, and Empress Hongxiao were named Empress Hongdao, Empress Hongde and Empress Hongxiao in order.
Japan
In the ancient Japanese imperial system, when the emperor's biological mother is an empress, he can become the empress dowager after the emperor ascends the throne; However, if the son of a concubine ascends the throne as emperor, he can only be called an imperial concubine, and the son born below the concubine ascends the throne as emperor, and the biological mother is honored as the imperial wife. After Emperor Daigo, in the Japanese imperial family, the emperor's biological mother, concubine, stepmother, etc. are also honored as the empress dowager, and Emperor Buntoku is the first emperor to ascend the throne by the son of the empress, so the son born to the empress can become the emperor, and the empress can be promoted to the empress dowager or an imperial lady similar to the rank of the empress dowager.
The current last empress dowager is Emperor Showa, Empress Kajun, who became empress dowager after Emperor Akihito ascended the throne. On June 16, 2000, Empress Kajun passed away (known as "Hongo" in Japanese).
The current reigning empress is Michiko, who became empress after Emperor Imami ascended the throne.
In the past, after the death of the empress (or nakagu), the empress dowager, or the empress dowager, there was no convention of using the name of the empress dowager, with the exception of Empress Eizō and Empress Shoken, and before that, only Empress Guang of the Nara period, nicknamed "Empress Dowager Tenhei Yoshi Mahitosho".
Michiko
A visit to the Empress Dowager of Japan
| Nickname (Courtyard Number) | name | Husband | age | remark |
| Nara period | ||||
| - | Miyako Fujiwara | Emperor Bunmu | 724–749 (Crown Lady) | |
| Queen of Light | Fujiwara Yasujukuhime | Emperor Seimu | 756-760 | |
| - | Ji Oak Ji | Emperor Tahara | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Takano Shinkasa | Emperor Mitsuhito | 781–790 (Crown Lady) | |
| - | Fujiwara no Otomuro | Emperor Kammu | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Ryoko Fujiwara | (Posthumously) | ||
| Heian period | ||||
| Queen Tanlin | Kachiko Tachibana | Emperor Saga | 823-833 | |
| - | Prince Masakouchi | Junwa Emperor | 833-854 | |
| - | Junko Fujiwara | Emperor Ren tomorrow | 850–854 (Crown Lady) 854—864 (Empress Dowager) | |
| - | Akiko Fujiwara | Emperor Buntoku | 858–864 (Crown Lady) 864—882 (Empress Dowager) | |
| - | Takako Fujiwara | Emperor Kiyowa | 877–882 (Crown Lady) 882–896 (Empress Dowager) | |
| - | Fujiwara Sawako | Emperor Ren tomorrow | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Queen of the Team | Emperor Mitsutaka | 887–897 (Crown Lady) 897—900 (Empress Dowager) | |
| - | Atsuko Fujiwara | Emperor Uta | 893–907 (Crown Lady) | |
| - | Soko Fujiwara | (Posthumously) | ||
| - | Shiruko Fujiwara | Emperor Daigo | 931-946 | |
| - | Yasuko Fujiwara | Emperor Murakami | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Prince Masakonai | Emperor Reizumi | 973-986 | |
| - | Fujiwara Aiko | (Posthumously) | ||
| - | Choko Fujiwara | (Posthumously) | ||
| - | Junko Fujiwara | Emperor Harmony | 1000-1012 | |
| Higashi-sanjo-in | Kenko Fujiwara | 986-1002 | ||
| - | Eiko Fujiwara | Emperor Sanjo | ?—1027 | |
| Upper East Gate Courtyard | Akiko Fujiwara | Ichijo Emperor | 1012-1018 | |
| - | Yoshiko Fujiwara | Emperor Go-Suzaku | (Posthumously) | |
| Yangmingmen Courtyard | Prince Zhenzinai | 1051-1068 | ||
| Nijo-in | Prince Zhangzinei | Emperor Go-Cold Spring | 1068-1069 | |
| - | Hiroko Fujiwara | 1069-1074 | ||
| - | Kaiko Fujiwara | 1074-1102 | ||
| - | Shigeko Fujiwara | Emperor Gosanjo | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Kenko Fujiwara | Emperor Shirakawa | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Fujiwara no Yasuko | Emperor Horikawa | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Tako Fujiwara | Emperor Konoe | 1156-1158 | |
| - | Keiko Fujiwara | 1158-1176 | ||
| - | Minamoto Yizi | Emperor Go-Shirakawa | (Posthumously) | |
| - | Shoko Fujiwara | 1172-1209 | ||
| Jianchun Gate Courtyard | Hiraziko | 1168-1176 | ||
| Shogunate regime | ||||
| Go-Kyogoku-in | Kiko Nishienji | Emperor Daigo | 1333 year | |
| New to the Xianmen Courtyard | Ryoko Ano | 1339-1359 | ||
| Gide Gate | Eiko Wanli Koji | Emperor Nara | (Posthumously) | |
| Jingqimen Courtyard | Nijo Sheko | Emperor Kashimachi | 1747-1790 | |
| Courtesy Gate Courtyard | Ichi Tomiko | Emperor Taoyuan | 1771-1796 | |
| Shenghua Gate Courtyard | Guards Weiko | Emperor Go-Taoyuan | 1781-1783 | |
| Shinseiwain | Prince Shinkonai | Emperor Mitsuge | 1820-1846 | |
| Shinshuo Pingmen Courtyard | Takashi Keiko | Emperor Nintaka | In 1847 | |
| Empress Dowager Yingzhao | Kujo Shuko | Filial piety to the emperor | 1868-1897 | |
| Modern times | ||||
| Empress Dowager Shōken | Ichimiko | Emperor Meiji | 1912-1914 | |
| Empress Zhenming | Nine knots | Emperor Taishō | 1927-1951 | |
| Empress Xiangchun | Queen Ryoko | Emperor Hirohito | 1989-2000 | |
| Michiko | Akihito | 2019— | (Similar status) |
North Korea
In ancient Korea, Korea was a vassal state of China, and the monarch was only called king and not emperor, so there was no title of empress dowager, and the Korean royal family called the monarch's legal mother "Wang Dafei", and the monarch's legal grandmother was called "Dawangdafei".
In addition, if the throne of the Joseon king is succeeded by a son from the harem, after the king's succession, the harem is not honored as a princess whose status is almost equivalent to that of the empress dowager, as in China, but maintains her original rank, but most of them will be called by her palace name, such as the pure grandmother's concubine Park as Jiashun Palace, until her death. The concubine Zhang Shi, who had been a princess, was honored as a concubine.
Concubine Min
After the establishment of the Korean Empire, there was only one empress dowager, the step-consort of Joseon Heonjong, Empress Hyojeong, known as Empress Myeongheon, until her death in 1903.
The Joseon Dynasty also saw two queens as the king's legal great-grandmothers. They are: Sujong period - Renzu succeeds Concubine Zhuanglie and Chunzu period - Yingzu succeeds Queen Zhenchun
Vietnam
Translation terms
Some Chinese translations are emperors for monarchs, and when the monarch ascends the throne, he conferrs the specific title of his mother, which is also translated as empress dowager. But the monarch's birth mother was not customized.
Russian Empire
| tsar | name | reign | remark |
| Alexander I and Nicholas I | Maria Fiodorovna | March 23, 1801 - November 5, 1828 (27 years 227 heavens) | Alexander I 1801-1825, Nicholas I 1825-1828 |
| Alexander II | Alexandra Fedorovna | March 2, 1855 - November 1, 1860 (5 years 244 heavens) | |
| Nicholas II | Maria Fiodorovna | November 1, 1894 - March 15, 1917 (22, 134 heavens) | End after the February Revolution (March 15) |
Holy Roman Empire
- After the death of Emperor Henry VI, his son Frederick did not succeed to the throne, but Henry VI's widow Constance remained known as Empress Dowager.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman monarchs were called sultans. If her biological mother or adoptive mother is the main family of the previous monarch (empress or sultan), she will receive the title of sultan, which translates to sultan empress dowager in Chinese, the head of the harem. The Ottoman monarch could have multiple chambers and concubines, and the status of the sultan dowager was to come as the birth mother or adoptive mother of the sultan, and must be the main chamber of the former sultan, and the other former sultan's main chambers and the birth mother of the monarch who was a concubine were not honored.
United Kingdom
Hong Kong refers to the mother of the British monarch as the Queen Mother, such as "Queen Elizabeth". Chinese mainland and Taiwan are called "Queen Mother".